Critics clucked at the prospect of perusing paintings by the action star, but museum director
Vladimir Gusev described the canvases as not “the work of an amateur. This is a real artist. The
Russian museum does not show weak artists.”

The venue draws more than 1 million visitors a year.

Stallone studied art before launching his Hollywood career.

“I think I’m a much better painter than an actor,” he said at the opening of the show.